Glad Rag Doll – Diana Krall

Living the oldies is surely a nostalgic experience. Listening to unheard oldies, is ironically, something novel as well. Novelty and nostalgia are thought to go hand-in-hand when Diana Krall brings back tracks from the 20th century into a modern album. Does the chemistry work out well? We’ll find out now.

Track

Rating

We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye

There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears

Just Like a Butterfly That’s Caught in the Rain

You Know-I Know Ev’rything’s Made for Love

Glad Rag Doll

I’m a Little Mixed Up

Prairie Lullaby

Here Lies Love

I Used to Love You But It’s All Over Now

Let It Rain

Lonely Avenue

Wide River to Cross

When the Curtain Comes Down

Album Analysis :-

1.We Just Couldn’t Say Goodbye

Beatles era all over again? Surely seems so. The style of the track is very reminiscent ‘The Beatles’ with a similar voice as well. It has a slow beat to itself which takes it forward on a normal, enjoyable pace. But, it strikes when it starts to get monotonous. The lyrics are more like proper English sentences and feel like a rhythm-bounded prose, rather than a song. That was the trend in the olden days, but it is kind of tough to charm today’s listeners with just that. Still, respect to the oldies.

2.There Ain’t No Sweet Man That’s Worth the Salt of My Tears

With a peppy beat and tone variations flying over monotony, this one has succeeded in building up a kind of an interest in the minds of the listeners. It’s fun to listen to. You can actually visualize someone on a guitar, moving around grooving to the beat and dancing with leg thrusts. The keyboard piece towards the end is a wonderful one, which literally brings back the olden days. A good listen.

3.Just Like a Butterfly That’s Caught in the Rain

There is nothing new musically. It’s carefree completely and the singer renders it with ease. Sometimes, that is beneficial, while at others, it is detrimental. It goes on a same pace almost entirely, but it does have a kind of symphony entangled inside, in the chorus portion. Other than that, it is mostly normal, much like any other song to be played in the background, for a nice romantic dinner.

4.You Know-I Know Ev’rything’s Made for Love

When the track starts, you have to struggle to decipher out whether the singer is singing or reciting a speech. It goes into proper music, following it. It is a charming piece actually. Sometimes, you may feel awkwardness due to something you can’t clearly explain, but the piece does have its pluses at other spots. It’s not awesome, but considerably good.

5.Glad Rag Doll

The title track. The huskiness of the voice sometimes makes it a bit tough to understand the lyrics. But, that is no hindrance to enjoy the song. It is more or less tending to silence throughout, but doesn’t leave you bored. Besides, for a slide into tranquility, this one might strangely be a good option, with its special vibe moving through the crevasses of the mind. A good one!

6.I’m a Little Mixed Up

This is what you were actually expecting. It’s nicely sung, with good use of the instruments. The tune might not be very variant, but the ease of singing is very beneficial here, owing to the style of the track. It is monotonous, but surprisingly doesn’t bore you down. Instead, it takes you along with it, and it will be long before you realize that you have already started moving to the beat.

7.Prairie Lullaby

It’s very slow, but very musical. It has good variations, with very less use of instrumentals. As the name suggests, it has a sleep-inducing power to it, if you lie down and listen peacefully. The listener comfortably slides into a kind of trance, actually visualizing a singer, singing the track, sitting in the spotlight. Nice use of piano, wherever it comes up, as well. It’s a good one.

8.Here Lies Love

At times, this feels much like a proper prose, more than anything else. It is kind of dazzling, but in confusion. You can’t really predict what comes next in the track. It is actually supposed to be something good, but the track takes awkward turns and sudden stops which are sometimes hard to digest. The piano piece in the latter half is a good work, but it is not enough to clear off the fog which had already built up.

9.I Used to Love You But It’s All Over Now

The voice is pretty husky here as well, but it does not hinder the clarity of the lyrics. It is pretty slow and mellow with a nice rendition. It is more of a ‘friend circle’ song, rather than a concert song, and that is what makes it connected. Musically it’s pretty normal, but the style of singing makes it catchy. It’s a good one.

10.Let It Rain

Marvellous. You feel ultra-lightweight, during the course of the song, with a dream-state of floating alongside the clouds, enjoying the nature. Nicely sung with good guitar. The vocalist has given entirety to the track, in instilling good emotion and bringing out the factor of “touch” and “feel”. Arguably, the best track of the album.

11.Lonely Avenue

It’s a fantastic mix of jazz and blues which actually takes you on a ride through the strings of that guitar. With wonderful vocals hovering above, the song is a magnet with its stylish accent of rendition. The brilliant instrumental piece, with which the song ends, adds that extra flavour to the already spicy mix. A great listen!

12.Wide River to Cross

Very melodic. This is the track which feels the most like a proper song, rather than a prose. Beautiful and romantic tune, coupled with a scintillating voice, feels as soothing as warm breath on a cold body. But, then comes a backing vocal on a different pitch. You can’t but ask “Why!”.Destruction of the mood completely. After that you don’t feel like continuing, and it takes some time to return to the initial mood. But, overall it is a nice one.

13.When the Curtain Comes Down

It’s a unique track. It has much of instrumental(mainly piano) in the first half, overlaid by announcements in the format of a ‘pre-play hype’ which tries to bring up the mood, but sadly does not. The second half is fully lyrical, but feels more like prose than a track. The instrumentals are good, but vocals does not quite fit in, or rather, vainly tried to fit in.

Overall, the album is nostalgic, but not completely novel to the ears. Can’t blame it on the tracks, as they are re-renditions of oldies, but this style is tough to work globally these days. The instrumentals are good, but the vocals and the lyrics go off-place at certain spots or rather, in certain tracks. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t a complete package either.

Picks from the Album : I’m a Little Mixed Up, Let It Rain, Lonely Avenue

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